An Old Friend
by Lorcan Wright
Summary: Skulduggery finds an old friend who disappeared at the end of the war, suspected dead. When she keeps just slipping out of his grasp, at every twist and turn, hunted by a long past war criminal. Driven by a 400 year old vow, in a mission of revenge what will she do? First fanfic please R&R!
1. The message

**General P.O.V.**

They had finally located the killer. This killer was none other than Mr Brute, a large muscled brute – hence the name. He was trained in elemental magic with a fierce temper and known for his grudges. His latest victim had been a sorcerer named Aedan Sandum, the man had been in his forties but looked to be in his twenties, he had been a adept who had crossed Mr Brute's path. It turned rather unpleasant for Aedan and he died at Mr Brute's hands.

Skulduggery and Valkyriehad finally found him in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of a small town called two had spent weeks pouring over research and following up false leads but today they finally got to arrest him.

As they were approaching the doors to the building they heard a window smash and a few cries of pain. "That is never good." Skulduggery stated, as the two ran into the building, kicking down the door whilst they were at it. However, the sight that met their eyes was not the one expected.

Mr Brute lay in a heap,blood surrounding him, presumably his own, in the middle of a circle of shattered glass. He had been cut and slashed enough that he was unconcious - although still alive- with clothes that were drenched crimson. The shattered window was along the wall beside him, all the glass had been smashed out of it's frame and not a single shard remained.

As the two took in the scene they were aware that someone was here only moments before but were very speedy and accurate with their work. The only evidence they seemed to have left behind was some that was meant to be seen. The window next to the shattered on read this...

..."Life will move on without me, but just remember."

**A/N Please R&R! First Fanfic hope you like it!**


	2. Remembering

Skulduggery phisically stilled. "No." he breathed. Valkyrie could tell it touched a nerve somewhere deep down, or an unwanted memory had arisen.

"Skulduggery?" and immediately he snapped out of his trance. The two hand cuffed the man and phoned the sanctuary requesting a vehicle to pick up the criminal - Skulduggery never wanted blood on his beloved Bentley. Ten minutes later the killer was on the way to the sanctuary in the back of a sanctuary van with two cleavers.

The drive to the sanctuary was made in silence because Valkyrie knew not to pry when he was in this mood. When they arrived Skulduggery and Valkyrie made their way to the Grand Mage's office where, the Grand Mage himself and his fellow elder Ghastly Bespoke where waiting. As the conversation progressed it became aparrent to the Elders that Skulduggery was not in the best of moods. As Valkyrie filled them in on the details Skulduggery suddenly spoke up. "And on the window beside the shattered one was a message..." he sighed, something was definitely wrong.

"And what did it say Skulduggery?" The Grand Mage prompted.

" It...It said... Life will move on without me,.." his voice started to change maybe become slightly tighter? He couldn't finish the sentence.

"...but just remember." Ghastly finished.

"How did you know that?" Asked Valkyrie.

"Well, when your in war you don'tmake a lot of friends because lots of people just came and went but sometimes there were just some people who stuck. Like us, the dead men I mean. You see there were only a couple of people who stuck and some of us became friends. Those were the last words we heard from a great friend of ours. She dissappeared at the end of the war." Ghastly explained, he chuckled." You could never keep her down, always full of life,never took a joke the wrong way and was always loyal to you no matter what you'd done."

"So someone knew about this person and our friendship during the war but why bring it back up now?" Ravel said. However, before they could answer the window beside them frosted up like the room had suddenly grown quite hot and the window had condensation on it. Someone slowly began to write on the window, "Please help." and ghost of a palm print burned onto the surface.


	3. A plea for help

Although someone seemed to have written the message, it was apparent to the detectives that no one had been on the other side of that glass so who and how did they write those messages. "I have heard of this happen somewhere before but the person was trapped in a twisted mirror world and it causes them much pain to send these." Skulduggery said.

"Well that might explain why they wrote so slowly." Valkyrie deducted.

"But as for the hand print if someone presses there hand against it we will be able to see a message, like when you see visions." Slowly Skulduggery walked over to the glass and pressed his hand against the print. Without warning all of them were stood in a long white corridor with doors leading into rooms with many windows to the real world. The door to their right was slightly ajar as if tempting them to walk in. So they did. "We will go back to our world once we have seen whatever the person wants us to see."

Inside that room seemed to be a group of people huddled around a small figure just larger than a child who was backing up into the corner. The people around them wore expressionless faces though their eyes were bright with mischiefand murder inside. The small figure was now backed up against the wall, they was talking no pleading them. "Please!" They cried, "Please someone,anyone please just let me go! Back to my world I don't belong here I just want to go home!" The figure was now in the light it was a small girl around the age by looks she was twelve at the very most, but as they all knew looks could be very decieving. She had long dark brown hair, brown eyes, she was small, skinny. She wore a dress that came to mid-thigh, and the sleeves came down to her elbows they looked like the edge had been brought up and sewn together to give them a bit ofa ruffled look, the top half was just plain black whilst the bottom half was white and had a large black glossy belt. She wore black slip-ons with a small bow on the front. _This, _Valkyrie thought, _is definetley not what she imagined the girl looked to small and innocent to have been in the war._ With that, they were back in Ravel's office with only the ghost of a scream following their exit.


	4. Going to Gordon

"We'll need to go see Gordon. He should have some information on how to get her back." Said Skulduggery.

"But she can't have been in the war Skulduggery, she looks younger than me for one reason and the other is she doesn't look like the fighting type." Valkyrie argued.

"Valkyrie, she's nearly as old as Ghastly and I. She doesn't look it because she was operated on by Nye during the war. They tried to make a powerful new weapon out of her one with no conscience, one that could manipulate others into thinking that she was too small and weak maybe. They gave her many powers, however it all went wrong as she developed her own conscience and joined our side during the war, she even stopped them from looking into her mind."

"To Gordon's it is then."

They strode into Gordon's secret study. The image of a man was looking over notes, presumably notes on the new book he was writing. "Ah hello, by the looks of things you're here on business rather than to just drop by for a chat." Gordon greeted them, looking up from the notes.

"Correct, do you remeber the story you told me quite a while ago now about some-one being trapped in a twisted mirror world?" Skuldugery asked.

"Yes, but why my I ask?"

"Because an old friend of Skulduggery's is trapped in the same way do you remember how to get them back?"

"Yes, how long have they been trapped there?"

"...We don't know."

"Well you might have a problem, the longer they are stuck there for the harder it is to break through, and even then the concequences are quite severe. If they have been trapped there for a week or two,there may be quite a bit of scarring, but if they've been there for a month or longer, ... they might die."

"Then that might not be a problem, how do we get her back?"

"You must chant these words in front of a full lenght mirror/window, Aquí eu chamar o que non lle pertence. O serán publicados de volta a onde el veu. Meanwhile wherever they are they have to tryand break through themselves."

"Here I draw what does not belong. The will be posted back to where it came from."

"Thanks Uncle Gordon."

"Anything for my favourite niece." He called, as Valkyrie hurried after Skulduggery._ He has been acting very strange lately_, Valkyrie thought.

**What's gonna happen next? Please R&R! **


	5. Understanding

They got in the Bentley and started the drive to the Sanctuary. Skulduggery certainley had been acting strange since that first message. He should be relieved but why not? And why had they come across the information so easily? These were the thoughts circuling Valkyrie's mind. "Penny for your thoughts?" Skulduggery asked.

"Well..." She didn't know how to be tactful about it so she just said it as it was. "How come you've never mentioned her before?"

"Ah, I can see how that question could arise. You see it was quite a delicate subject...Some people think that she is just a fairytale now, that is everyone except the dead men and very important operatives of Mevolent's, but most of them are dead."

"Oh, why do people think she's just a fairytale?" She was very confused now.

He paused, "Well I supose, she was kept very hush hush, but rumours do what rumours do they spread. Rumours had it that Mevolent had a new top secret weapon one that could not possibly fail. They said the powers that it had were limitless. However it was locked away to where even Mevolent couldn't use it."

Valkyrie frowned. "What are her powers then?"

"She is a shapeshifter, albeit more advanced. When Nye operated on her, she could then harness the powers of those that she could be but they were also stored in her memory so she could use these powers at anytime, being anyone." He spat out Nye's name like it was a piece of unwanted gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

"Oh, but then how have we been able to get this information so fast, it just seems to easy." Now she was feeling very suspicious. They'd never been able to come across a solution this quick. Never. These things were not _that _easy.

"Ah I think I know. You see she doesn't just walk away, she would have to have a massive reason. Since she can duplicate herself, she would have stationed a couple of herself's around the world, as decoys, so there _should _be one in Ireland."

"_Should _be?" Should? That implied that there might even be the slightest chance that there isn't, but it wasn't as if they had to look for her so she shouldn't be worrying.

"Yes theoretically as she wouldn't set foot in Ireland if the threat was that big. And someone was obviously making this easier for us, someone who has to be in the country to know what we're doing and someone who knows about her. That someone could only be her as she's the only one who knows that she has dissappeared."

"I thinkI actually understood that."

"Really?"

"No."


	6. History

"Right so if she can duplicate herself, then why didn't the duplicate come to us?" Valkyrie asked.

"Well we don't know that yet, it might be because it was under strict instructions, from Lorcan, to back away from us. The duplicates are a lot like reflections, there are only a few differences but it can't assume anything or think for itself. " **(A/N Sorry couldn't think of a username for myself so I just used one of my characters name.)**

"So then why was it communicating with us?"

"It is, meant to think like her so possibly she helped send these messages but, we would have to find one of them to see."

The two entered the throne room of the sanctuary."So what have you got?" The grand mage yawned.

"Well we know how to get her back." Started Valkyrie.

"That's the best news we've had all day." Both Ghastly and Erskine perked up when they heard they'd found a soloution.

"But it's all come to easy, all the leads were just there for the taking. Someone had purposly st this information up." Skulduggery finished, suspition evident in his voice.

"Who cares let's just get it done and over with." Ghastly said.

"Let's get started then, first things first, we will need a full lenght mirror and possibly a large room so we can stand quite far back." Skuldugery started to explain what Gordon had told them. But, all to soon they had everything ready, they were stood in a large square room with a full lenght mirror on the opposite side of the room.

"So now all that has to be done is to utter the words. Aquí eu chamar o que non lle pertence. O serán publicados de volta a onde el veu." The mirror's image started to fade and change contrasting with the world on the other side. Then, there sat the same girl once again in the same corner but, she was a deathly white and her eyes were closed. She appeared to be dead, until she started to open her eyes, wincing in pain. There was a pool of blood around her from the stab wounds in her stomach and chest. The blood started to trickle down the frame of the mirror and dripped onto the floor in the room. The girl's eyes seemed unfocused, but even so she began to slowly crawl over to the mirror's edge. She stopped at the glass unsure if she could pass. As she went to push her hand through she collapsed into the room they were in. The glass exploded behind her. Slowly Skulduggery and Valkyrie walked up to her, she started coughing up mouthfuls of blood, and then she went silent.

Skulduggery cursed. "She's been cut off from her magic for to long we have to get her to Nye." He picked her up, like she was limp rag doll, speed walking to the medical bay. People stared and whispered as they passed but all that Skulduggery was intent on was getting the girl to the medical bay. As Skulduggery thundered into the medical bay, Nye walked through expecting the girl to be Valkyrie until Valkyrie stepped out from behind him. Skulduggery carefully placed her on the bed. "My oh my, I haven't seen this girl in around 250 years, what happened to her?" Nye asked.

"She was trapped in the mirror world without any don't know how long it's been cut off for but it's evidentley been to long." He gestured to the girl.

Nye got to work quickly and in 30 minutes he was done but she was still unconcious. As they watched her, they were envoloped in silence up till Skulduggery started to speak."Valkyrie I have told you very little about this girl but the least you know about the war the better. The war brought out the worst in people and those who kept alive had to become killers. I'llbe back in a moment. I'mjust going to get that book about our hundred most famous legends. She's in there it should help you understand more."

"Okay." Was all she said in response. He needed his space I mean if you thought somebody was dead for two hundred years and then youfind them again, nearly dead,she figured you'd need a litlle space. Two minutes later Skulduggery returned with the book. She flicked to page 74 and began to read "The Girl Who Changed The War?"

_On July 3rd 1606 Mevolent captured a family of three. The Mother was an elemental, the Father was a master blacksmith, but what was special about this particular family was their daughter, she was a shapeshifter. The family was imprisoned in two different cells on opposite sides of the parents were led into one cell whilst thier daughter was dragged away into another. They spent a week this way before they were brought to Mevolent. Mevolent asked the girl wether she would join them during the war and fight for them. She politley declined the offer. Mevolent tried to persuade her for many days after that but it was always the same, Mevolent soon grew bored, he told her if she would not join them she would end up like her parents, girl hadn't seen her parents for days, so she asked what had become of them. Mevolent had them dragged in and killed in front of her. She strained against her bonds, screaming their names as they writhed in agony. She cried a single tear and remained silent for a month until Mevolent had Nye operate on her to enhance her power and abilities. She would not come willingly and she was knocked out and strapped onto the operation table. From here on it remains a mystery as to what happened between September 1st 1606 to May 5th 1614. She escaped with her life into a nearby forest on May 5th,she was found by Meritorious's troops and brought back to camp. She had already been trained by Mevolent and continued training with Meritorious's men. She fought battilions of sorcerer's on her own and climbed the ranks. She became a feared nightmare and fable. When she was on her last mission rumour has it she stormed the building that held Mevolent himself and she had been surrounded. In all the mess and confusion the men had grouped together to launch an attack on her brain as Mevolent knew her one weakness. A single tear dripped down her cheek and fell to the floor. Bright light exploded throughout the building, all of Mevolent's men but he himself died and she disappeared from sight. Not a soul saw her after that moment. But was she ever real or just a source of hope?_

As Valkyrie finished reading the girlshaert began to race as her magic returned to her. She awoke to see a worried Skulduggery and Valkyrie looking over to her. She spotted the two and gasped.


	7. Leaving

The girl started coughing up blood and waved away a doctor after a minute or two she stopped. She turned back to them, and rubbed her eyes, giving a eyes lit up, "Colours" she gasped. "I never thought I'd see them again." She stared around the room taking every detail in. _**(Sorry,again I couldn't think of a username so I used a characters name.)**_

"Skulduggery, how long's it been?" She asked him,uneasiness and surprise in her voice.

"Too long."

"Ah. Well,...I'm here now!" She said hopefully, trying to steer the conversation away from where she'd been. Unfortunatley, she had no such luck.

"Lorcan, why did you leave?" He asked the question straight out like he was asking an old friend how they were.

She paused. "Because I had to."

"Then why not leave a note? Why make all of us think you died that day? We all thought you'd just come back up to us, give us a smile and say that we were all worrying about nothing. We waited years for you to come back, expecting youto be back there waiting for us. How could you just leave us like that?"

"I didn't really have a choice." An edge to her voice.

"Yes, you did. You could have stayed that way we could have helped you."Skulduggery's voice grew hard.

"Not really." At that point Ghastly and Ravel walked in anxiety was clear on their faces until they saw her awake, their faces then showed relief flooding their features. "Ghastly, Ravel your elders?" She looked completly perplexed. "Since when did you two even start to mature?" She joked. They hugged one still in a hug she glanced outside the window, her eyes widened. "I have to go, NOW."

"But wait, you only just got here?" Ghastly protested.

"Sorry but I'm off." She vanished in the blink of an eye.


	8. Home

What had she just done, she was running from everyone including her friends and whywas that? Because of some stupid phyco day she remeber most vividly was the day her parents died seeing that evil glint in those eyes, but not far behind was the day she ran. Now she had to deal with in her opinion a kind of nosyannoying lodger that she couldn't shove out no matter how hard she pushed. What a long life she had. She had gone through suicide, murder and then accidental deathbut as of yet she still couldn't die orshove him out. She had run from everyone and everything she knew because otherwise, they wouldn't be there anymore. She knew exactly what she was to the lodger, a weapon a ticking time bomb that was sealed shut and not even world's greatest bomb disposal unit could deactivate her. These were just a few selfpitying thoughts the girl had as she sat in the old ruined village, this place had once been her place of safety, her home,her life. That had since been taken away from her quite a time ago. She sat in the ruins of what was once an old house yet here there just stood a circle of rocks, the thatched roof had rotted away since. Why did she run? Why not say what she knew? She sighed, she couldn't, it was as simple as that she just couldn't do it. This just took her level of thoughts down another level, to the level of pure dejection.

Why her? Why was she always all alone? Then she began to sing a song that would always remind her of what happened there. She sang; " Some things in life are bad,

they can really make you mad,

otherthings just make you swear and curse,

when your chewing on life's bristle,

don't grumble give a whislte and this'll help things turn out for the best.

Always look on the bright side of life, *whistling along with the song*

Always look on the light side of life,

When life seems jolly rotten,

there's something you've forgotten and that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.

She carried on and throughout the whole song she remembered when she was little, her mum was there singing to her in a sweet soft voice and there she sat listening to her mum in her memory she looked like she hadn't a care in the world. She didn't know who her mum or dad ever was and anyone who would have known them died. Their life had been here in this small village, not venturing out too far but occasionally walking to the nearby fields and playing until sundown. The village had been destroyed at the start of the war, she was captured and imprisoned and that's where her life really began. In prison, right at the start of a war,she knew wars only got worse. She was only eight years old, by the time she'd escaped shewas sixteen years old and ready to jointhe forces. She was found in the woods and brought to acamp that's where her life had really started, in the war she finally had a cause to fight for, apurpose in life. She looked up and gazed at her surroundings, she was met by the sight of the people that ruined her life here, the people that labelled her prisoner X,the people that thought they owned her,the people that tried touse her as a weapon. She was going to show them what they'd done to her life, how muchpain had been inflicted upon her and she was going to show them who she now was.

She was going to show them that she was Lorcan Wright.


	9. Capture

"Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can." Skulduggery said and hung up.

"Who was that and what were they on about?" Valkyrie asked, clearly bored.

"Public disturbance call, a family walking through the woods on a nice family hike spotted a fight break out with many grown men and women fight girl that matches Lorcan's description perfectly and she used magic. I have a feeling it's her."

"Well, that didn't take long."

"No, funnily enough she's just like you can hide well if she wants but if she's not hiding, she can't be left alone for five minutes."

"I don't get into trouble that often!" Valkyrie argued.

Skulduggery was about to speak when Valkyrie sent him a look that could kill, so he backed down."Of course you don't." Skulduggery soothed as they climbed into the Bentley. As they drove, Skulduggery explained more about exactly who they were dealing with.

They soon arivved to see the sanctuary agents dressed as police arriving at the ruined village. Many men and women where knocked out cold and the fight had obviously carried on into the woods, following the trail of destruction and unconscious bodies. As Skulduggery tried to arrange the sanctuary agents, Valkyrie stood beside him trying to see past the perimeter of trees.

When Skulduggery had finished, they turned and followed the trail into the woods. They both remianed silent trying to find where they fight was at that point in time. As they started to lose sight of ruins behind them, they heard the sounds of a struggle. Skulduggery motioned for Valkyrie to go round one side whilst Skulduggery would go round the other. Now they saw her, darting from place to place, taunting the opponents letting them know exactly who they were dealing with. As she struck the last one unconscious, Skulduggery began creeping towards her and Valkyrie followed suit. Lorcan seemingly too busy smirking at the man only turned and noticed them when she heard the click of Skulduggery's gun. She turned to see her chances of escaping the other way and noticed Valkyrie with other sanctuary agents closing in on all sides. Lorcan slowly began backing up to the tree behind her.

Skulduggery cocked his head, with Lorcan at gun point, she could no longer move anywhere. "You know this reminds me so much of the first time we met." Skulduggery stated, as they walked closer still.

"Yeah, apart from the fact that we were in the middle of a war, in the 1600's so there was no gun's but still weapons all the same and it was just you and the dead men." She replied, obviously remembering. Lorcan had changed into what looked like old combative gear, clothes from the war probably. The scuffed brown boots had multiple faded stains most was a dark crimson, probably blood, the skirt she was wearing, was a faded brown and came to her knees, her top was an emerald green, laced around the collar and the sleeves came over her upper arms but not her shoulders(Like a peasant top). Her hair, Valkyrie noticed was now set in a high ponytail. She laughed,"Do you remeber what I did then?" Lorcan asked.

"Of course, you teleported around us figuring a way to escape us, but stalling us before we caught you." Skulduggery answered, his gun unwavering.

"Yeah,but this time I am kinda hoping that you don't have the same plan as last time, having Vex sneak up on me and tackle me, might I remind you that it was quite rude."

"You could have been anyone." He simply said.

"Yeah, exactly! I could have been someone on YOUR side." She disputed.

"But, a young girl, wondering about in the middle of a war zone, unaccompanied, was a bit of a giveaway."

"You're right, though I had no idea where I was so half the time I was glad the other half I was worrying you were Mevolent's men." What Valkyrie and the other sanctuary agents were astonished at was the fact that Lorcan didn't seem bothered that there was a gun to her head, she just seemed to ignore it."So are you gonna shoot me or what?"

"I don't think so, it would be a waste of a perfectly good bullet. Are you going to come along quietly or do I have to hand cuff you?" He questioned, waiting for her answer.

"You know hand cuffs are probably a good idea. Buuuuuuuuttt you'll have to catch me first." She cheekily replied. She disappeared, then reappeared in one of the trees above them then she kept teleporting to another tree at random just before they could catch her. That was until, Skulduggery flew up and grabbed her from behind."Gotcha" He smirked, as he saw Valkyrie rushing to meet them.


	10. The past

It had been around three hours give or take since she had been shoved in here, as soon as she'd arrived she decided to try and make herself comfortable, when that didn't work she tried starting to get a grasp on time while her thoughts wondered. She was sat on a cold, thin mattress that seemed to be even colder than the stone walls surrounding her. She sat there in the cell unable to move from the room, wrapped up in her own thoughts, she wondered through her memories as her mind showed these images of her life to her. She was aware that people were watching her. She could see them behind the window staring at her and she felt like she was back in the one cell that had held most of her life. She came to a stop on the memory of herself making a speech, now. She looked confident and strong, around the age of eighteen. She was in England, making a speech to the people around her. They had told her to make it real, make peoplebelieve it so she was and as she sat in the cell she spoke those words stirring everyones hearts around her.

"When I was eight years old I was taken from my mum and dad, there was nothing we could do. I stopped and stared as they faded away, have you ever lost anybody? Have you ever lost your name and everything and anything you ever were? That was me, I thought that I could trust someone,I couldn't they told everyone and that's how I got my first nickname X. Everyday of my life after that was hell in itself. I had no one not a single person to turn to. That was my life before I came to the other side, I was given a home and a life, I felt like I had a purpose, a reason to be, not to be used by others because of who I was.

I not the only kid that grew up this way, abused and surrounded by people who used to say that rhyme,about sticks and stones, as if brocken bones hurt more than the names we got called,and we got called them all. So we grew up believing that no one would ever fall in love with us, that we'd be lonely forever, that we'd never meet someone to make us feel like the sun was something they'd built in their tool shed. So, brocken heartstrings bled the blues as we tried to empty ourselves so we would feel nothing, don't tell me that hurts lessthan a brocken bone. An ingrown life was something surgeons can cut away, that there was no way for it to metastisize, it does.

She,"She pointed to a picture ofa small girl around the age of eight, curled up in a small ball with her head in her hands silently crying," was eight years old, our first day of year three, when she got called ugly, we were moved to the back of class so we could stop being bombarded by spitballs and paper areoplanes, or balls of paper that were filled with insults. But the school halls were battlegrounds, we found ourselves outnumbered day after wretched day, we used to stay inside for break, because outside was worse. Outside we'd have to re hearse running away, and learning to stay still like statues, giving no clues that we were there. And year five they taped a sign to her place that read 'beware of dog'. To this day, despite a loving husband, she doesn't think she's beautiful, because of a birth mark that covers alittle less than half her face. Kids used to say she looked like a wrong answer, that someone tried to erase but couldn't quite get the job done. And they'll never understand that she's raising two kids who's definition of the word beauty begins with the word mum, because they see her heart, before her skin and only all she's ever been is amazing.

He," She pointed to another picture but this time of a smallboy tears pricking his eyes," was a brocken branch grafted onto a different family tree, adopted, not because his parents opted for a different destiny, he was three when he became a mixed drink: one part left alone, two parts tradgedy. He started therapy in year eight, a personality made up of test and pills. Lived like the uphills were mountains and the downhill were cliffs for fifth sucidal, a tidal wave of anti-deppressants. With an adolescence of being called popper, one part because of the pills ninety-nine parts because of the cruelty. He tried to kill himself in year ten, the kid who could stil go home to mum and dad, have the audacity to tell them 'get over it'.

As if depressioncan be remidied by anything in the contents found in a first aid kit, and to this day he is a stick of TNT lit from both ends. He can describe to you the way the sky bends before the moment it's about to fall and despite an army of friends, who all call him an inspiration, he remains a conversation for those who can't understand sometimes being drug free is less to do with addiction and more to do with sanity.

We weren't the only kids who grew up this way, to this day kids are still being called names. But life is bad if you can't make the most of it. It seems like every language has an arsenal of names being updated every year. And if a kid breaks, and no one around choses to hear do they make a sound? Are they just background noise from a soundtrack stuck on repeat and people say things like people can be cruel? Everywhere is a big top circus tent, and the pecking order went from acrobats to lion tamers and from clownes to crownies, all of these miles ahead of who we were. We were freaks. Lobster claw boys and bearded ladies, oddities juggling loneliness and depression. Playing spin the bottle to try and kiss the wounded parts of ourselves in heal. But at nights while others slept we kept walking the tight rope, as practice. Yes, some of us fell, but I wanna tell them that all of this is just a breath, leftover from when we finally decided to smash all the things we thought we used to be. And if you can't see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror, look a little closer, stare a little longer because there's something inside you that kept you going despite everyone who told you to quit. You built a cast around your brocken heart and you signed it yourself, you signed it They were WRONG! Cuz maybe you didn't belong to a group or a clique, maybe you got picked last for basketball or for everything, maybe you used to bring bruises and brocken teeth to show and tell but never told, because how can you hold you're ground if everyone around you wants to bury you beneath it? Youhave to believe that they were wrong! They have to be wrong, why else would we stil be here? We grew up learning to cheer on the underdog because we see ourselves in them,we stem from the root planted in the belief that we are not what we were called.

We are not screw-ups, we are graduates fromthe class of we made its. Not the faded echoes of voices crying out 'words will never hurt me', of course they did, but our lives will only ever continue to be a balancing act, with less about the negatives and more to do with the positives." With that she bowed her head, not wanting to see the images filling her head and the space around her. Closing off every thought that could have possibly entered her the door opened she looked up expecting to see two cleavers at the door shackles at the ready, ready take her to the interview room, but no there stood a sanctuary mage who she'd seen before but couldn't put a name to a face. He motoined for her to come and she stood up and made her way over to the mage away from the cold mattress that would have served as her bed, away from the cold stone room that made her cell, she looked back as they walked on wondering how long it was until she was allowed free again.

_**Sorry the chapter is really depressing, went to the dentist this morning, and one of my little sisters who just turned seven got told that she is to need a MASSIVE MASSIVE operations on her gums and teeth because of a accident she had when she was younger, been in a depressing mood all day!**_


	11. Interrogation

**A/N Firstly I want to thank the people who have either favourited my story, reviewed the story or followed the story. So thank you very much to these people:**

**Summer Rosewood,**

**Morgan Sulfur,**

**Everdfern,**

**The trio of Twilight,**

**and Nightmare Asphyxiate.**

**Thank you to everyone! Also, sorry for not updating in a while, been to France for a week then when I got back laptop stopped working! :( But, it's been fixed now, something about the router not working and the network adapter gone a bit crazy - no idea. :P**

As Lorcan sat there waiting, her mind drifted off, after all it was Skulduggery she was waiting for, she wasn't sure about Valkyrie but with Skulduggery nobody was sure when or where he'd be, all anyone knew was that he couldn't keep himself out of trouble. She wondered if he'd changed over the years, he probably had, but how?

Her thought train was finally disturbed as the Skeleton walked through the door, and took the remaining seat across from her whilst Valkyrie stood against the wall, half in the shadows. "So, do remind me, when did I become a criminal?" She asked.

"I ask the questions here, but why would you think that?" Skulduggery answered.

"Oh, okay it's just it's not as if I was hand cuffed, shoved in a cell then brought to an interregation room and hand cuffed to a table, is it?" She said as she motioned to her right hand which was currently cuffed to the table. "Oh wait a minute, I HAVE!"

"Well... You wouldn't stop running." He tried.

"You're point being?" She raised her eyebrow.

"We had to stop you."

"Well, could you have done it without making me look like a criminal?"

He hesitated.

"OH MY GOD! Pathetic!" She cried. Valkyrie stayed quite as she knew that Skulduggery could hndle his own fights.

"Well, not if I couldn't call you, go to wherever you live or have any knowledge of you being alive for the past two hundred years." Skulduggery argued.

"Yes, I suppose I am being a little harsh. But did it ever occur to you that I ran because I had a very valid reason, and that I have been trying to get you to notice me somewhere and get you to find me? I stopped that TEN YEARS ago, Skulduggery!" She finished, shouting the last part.

"Listen to me for just a moment! I didn't know that you were even alive! If you didn't even notice back there, I just saved your life!"Skulduggery cried. At that point Valkyrie decided to leave them be, only to walk straight out and bump in to a very worried looking Grand Mage.

"Is she okay?" Ravel asked.

"Yeah, she's fine but I wouldn't go in there at the moment, they're having and argument at the moment." But no sooner had she finished that sentence when Lorcan and Skulduggery both came charging out, Lorcan in front with half a pair of shackles still on her wrist and Skulduggery right behind. "No tell me why you dissappeared now!" Skulduggery screamed at the top of his metaphorical lungs p the argument had evidentleygot pretty heated.

"Fine, you want to know? There was a death order against you and the rest of the dead men! Yes Skul, they did know how to kill you! If I didn't go and perform this ritual you all died, alright! Why do you think Hopeless died? He was the warning they sent me!" She screamed, immediatley covering her mouth after she revealed the secret. "There I said it, is that what you wanted to hear?" Her words biting like they were laced with venom. He only reaction was to stare at her to shocked to speak, just like everyone else around them causing a stony silence.

"He died because,he was a warning?" He echoed her words.

"Yes, alright, he did." She sighed.

"They knew about the friendship we shared, Serpine suggested the idea after he saw how successful it was on you, Skul, one of the dead men. So he then thought well if it worked that successfully on you then how would it work on a small child who was just caught up in the middle from the very start through no fault of her own. I have been hunted ever since by extremist Faceless Ones fanatics, worst things worst they were Mevolent's top men." She confessed, slumping in defeat. "And I still haven't managed to give them the slip, so you better watch your backs because they just heard all of that." She warned.


	12. Old Times

**A/N Thank you again to all of the support I have had and a special thanks to all the help given to me by NightcatMau! If anybody does no know who this author is you aught to be ashamed! This was just a burst of inspiration given to me the other day... Again all support is fully appreciated!**

Alone, again. After her outburst, she'd left them be, one - to prepare, two - for them to digest the information and move on. Bitter-sweet thoughts about them circling her mind, when was the last time she saw them? That's right the night she, for want of a better word, 'died'.

All those years ago, must have been what? 1804? Her and the dead men were there to storm one of Mevolent's main bases,'_the watchtower_' that's what people had called it. Her mission was to eliminate three definite threats to Meritorious inside the structure, their mission however was to infiltrate the areas around the building to clear the way for her and then take down the security measures, therefore desimating his control with the threat of being captured, tortured and killed on the side.

Although she had already got inside the structure and eliminated two threats, she had to eliminate the last and most dangerous, of course being the most dangerous meant the higher up in rank, the more security. Dismantling the security symbols, after that knocking out both guards, admittedly all that hadn't actually been that hard. It was the fact of _who _she could bump into had put pressure on her not the fact of more security. He had watched her being tortured, he had been one of the torturers, and he had smirked at her all the while.

She entered the room, managed to sneak up behind her victim, put a knife to his throat and threaten to kill him if he made a sound, before she slit his throat. The victim of course managed a strangled gurgle as he died but, with the way her luck was going at that point whilst exiting the structure she'd stumbled upon one of Mevolent's throne rooms. Luckily no one saw her, until she'd made a wrong turn, cursed herself and got caught by _him_.

_He _was the worst thing that could have possibly happened to her, _he _was the one she was afraid of bumping into, _he_ was the one who destroyed her home, _he _was her torturer. Frozen by fear she ran however the only problem with her plan was the only way to run was up. Up the stairs to the top of the tower, to the roof. She hadn't been able to use her magic she'd been to afraid of him.

She remembered her last moments there as if they were in slow motion, running to the edge and turning to find he'd followed her weapon in hand. She got out her own and attempted to manoeuvre herself away from the edge, no such luck, her attempts were clumsy and weak. He had plunged the dagger into her chest watching as she let her energy explode killing any living thing in the building, with a few exceptions, and he had watched her fall. her scream echoing off the tower. Thereupon, the screaming that had erupted from the people in the village below, the havoc causing the dead men to wander over and see her dying form. She had died that day in front of them, given them her message, anon slowly faded her image until she transformed into a tiny silver stream that had floated high above them and dissipated in the air.

Forthwith they had scoured the building, finding no-one as the survivors made their escape and were far gone by that time. A few years after she had heard that a memorial had been erected for her in one of the mage graveyards, curiosity getting the better of her, she travelled to the graveyard where her own tomb stood. Being careful to not be noticed reading each inscription carefully though still devouring every word. They had cared so much and put effort into this as she saw they had laid her sword inside the tomb,beside a statue of a small girl, presumably herself in her cloak. Outside of the statue and the sword, the only other thing that had caught her attention was the jewellery that the statue wore, they had placed her bracelet and necklace on the statue.

The jewellery they knew that had been so special to her, the jewellery that her father had made her.


	13. Memories

Skulduggery POV

Nobody moved but Lorcan, as she rushed out the front doors. We all knew that Hopeless had died under suspicous circumstances, though not in our wildest imaginations would we have imagined that he died as a warning. Never. He was always the one watching our backs as I stormed straight in head first.

An hour had passed and she still hadn't come back, we were all sat in Ghastly's office as heserved us tea and got on with his paperwork. "You know you should probably go find her remember the last time she stormed out on us? We found her inthe woods looking out for the enimies troops then chopping off their heads and sticking them on spikes." Ghastly sounded worried, probably wondering what on earth she was doing now.

I shrugged when Valkyrie looked at me incrediously. " It got very boring during the war." I explained which made her stare at me as if I had completely lost my marbles this time, it's not like I haven't before. "Come on then." I sighed. I waited for her to get up, and we walked out the doors. As we started towards out the doors, Val asked "Where exactly would she be?"

I paused, "No idea."

"You're kidding me, right Skulduggery?" An edge to her voice.

"Of course"

She physically relaxed at my answer, "So where is she?"

"Somewhere quiet, where nobody goes."

"You honestly don't know do you?"

"No. "

Valkyrie sighed evidentley frustrated.

"Wait, Val do you see that there next to the lake?" I nodded to an object that kept moving very suddenly. She gave me a nod. We started creaping up until I noticed there was a man stood there, frozen to the spot staring at something we couldn't see, Val started to relax and I shook my head. Something wasn't right. Val stepped on a twig and the man kept staring into the distance, not hearing anything. She looked at me and all I could do was man'shair was blowing in a none existant wind that we couldn't feel, and he wore something of military clothing as we were about to move round and look at his face, his image flickered as if he was just a projection of a man and inside the projection she stood. I was about to turn her round but noticed she was frozen, as if paralyzed by suddenly, she swung round clutchingher chest and the look on her face confirmed it, she must have been looking through her memories or something, because the look and posture even the clothes she was wearing were the same to that day.I realizied she was reliving all the trauma, all the fear of that very day.

I realizied she was reliving the day she 'died'.

**A/N: A little short but I will update the story soon, working on all possible problems, for the next few chapters.**


	14. Research

A/N: Hope you like it, I won't be able to update for just over a week from now, Going on hols!  
General POV

She woke up in the same hospital room that she had woken up in the morning earlier. Although this time she had no visitors. How had she got there? The last thing she remembered was at the lake. She was stood looking into the lake, and then she was wondering through her memoriesand then...The Nightmare! It had haunted her since the day she had left. Seeing them that way... She would never be ableto sleep or she wouldn't be able to wake up. Looks like the latter this time but who had brought her back?

Ghastly POV

There was a soft knock on the door. "Come in" He called expecting a hovering Tipstaff seeing if he needed anything, however he looked up to see Lorcan slowly wandering in, and shutting the door carefully behind her.

"Can you spare a minute?" She asked hope and fear evident in her hazel eyes.

General POV

Once again they were in the mystical hall of magical filling cabnets. "What are we looking for again, Skul?" Valkyrie asked staring at the file in front of her, a look of boredom etched on her face.

"Any magic related things that were cleared up, probably about a girl aged between 11 and 14 using magic to help people but the report must have stuckout to me, it must have been different." He explained.

"So...Anything?"

"Yes, Valkyrie you know how I hate repeating myself."

Valkyrie sighed. "Do you know how long it will take to go through ALL these reports?"

"Roughly 5 minutes."

"FIVE minutes?"She gave him a confused look.

"Well, for you five minutes, the time it takes you to get bored of these files, and find an excuse to wander off."

Valkyrie looked at her phone checking the time, "You know it realy does take five minutes, I'm going to see if she's woken up again yet." and with that she walked out.


	15. Explaining

General POV

"You don't know how hard this is, do you?"She asked.

"How hard what is, Lorcan?" Ghastly replied confused.

"How hard it is to tell you,I-I um... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ran from you and everyone else, it was hard to cope with one family dead and the other with a death threat against them, as you became a second family basically. All I could have wished for. I didn't want Excruciate to have that victory over me." She apologised.

"Excruciate?" He asked.

"Excruciate, oh! I never told you, did I? He was my parent's murderer, my captor and my torturer as you can see, he never did believe I was gone, and he was also the one that kiled me, he also recently imprisoned me as you can imagine not a fun guy..." She sighed.

"We never really thought that you were gone, we waited for so long after,until we realized you weren't coming back. So who was he?"

"Formely known as Captain Montgomery Excruciate. He was one of Serpines most glorified lackeys, you kept tabs on him just before Serpine tried to get to The Book of Names. I tried to help and I thought you could handle Serpine by yourself, but the White Cleaver? Not at the same time so I informed Necromancers that he had used Necromancy to bring the cleaver back, I was sometimes left annonymous tips. I tried to come back but, then I found out Excruciate was tailing me."

"Well, you're probably going to need your old clothes, luckily for you we kept them." He smiled reassuring her that he understood.

"Really?" She gave a thankful smile to him.

"Yes, in fact we kept all of your things, but you'll have to ask Skul for them, hewas the only one who had space. Just one question, why did you only visit your own crypt once? You visited other graves a few times but, why never yours again? We knew somebody had been there, and that they had taken great care in grafting all the security symbols back into place. They also left flowers at the graves of Hopeless and Larrikin."

"How did you know I left the flowers as well?"

"It took us a while but, it was Skul who figured it out, you'll have to ask him."

"Huh, should have guessed you guys would figure it out."

"Go on then go! Last I knew Skul and Val were in the filing cabinet room, if you want to catch them they better be quick, if they haven't left already they'll be leaving very soon, Lord knows their attention spans are that of a goldfish." He hurried her, as she was leaving the office.

Skulduggery POV

My phone started to ring as I exited the filing room, I checked the flashing screen and to my surprise it was Dexter Vex. "Dexter, I've actually been meaning to ring you." I answered, as I continued to wander through the sanctuary, looking for Val or Lorcan.

_Well, hello to you to! Why have you been meaning to ring? What have you been up to?_

"We have a surprise visitor actually."

_Who?_

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I said flatly.

_I hardly listen to what you say anyway, just tell me who, I'll believe you._

"I doubt that..."

_No seriously, just tell me who._

"If you insist then, it's Lorcan..."

_...Yeah, now I get what you mean, I don't believe you in the slightest. Mate,she's been dead for __**200**__ years now, are you sure you're alright Skul? You're not still having hallucinations from your time in the other dimension with the Faceless Ones?_

"I'm quite sure, I'm fine! Would you like me to send proof?"

_Like you could get any!_

"We'll just see about that..." As he was passing an adjoining corridor he heard teenage giggling. Lorcan and Val. "Come to the sanctuary,go to Ghastly's office and tell the rest of the dead men to come as well, they'll want to see this." He instructed as he ended the call. He rounded the corner to be met by two gigling girls, "Care to share?" He asked. The girls looked at him then burst out laughing. "Rude!" He grumbled mock-annoyed.

"Ever the gentleman!" Valkyrie gasped between laughs, whilst wipping tears from her eyes. "We are neede in Ghastly's office." They eventually sobered and followed Skulduggery to Ghastly's office. When they neared the door several male voices could be heard inside. Skulduggery knocked on the door. Just as they entered the room they heard all the voices silence as they observed the new arrival.


	16. Taking Charge

"Well, I see you managed to get some proof..." Dexter mumbled. As the silence continued the men continued to stare at Lorcan, causing her to blush at the awkward situation that was staring her in the face.

"Uhh..."

"Men, you remeber Lorcan?" Skulduggery introduced her.

There were a few disbelieving mumbles then a few 'yes's sounded around the room. "Good, you should all be aware by now that we are all in danger, yes we have faced it all before but, this time we'll have to stick together. There's a death warrant against us all, except Valkyrie and Lorcan here, though Lorcan _will_ be targeted for capture." Skulduggery got straight to the point of the meeting as the questions had all been warned that they were indeed here on serious business by Ghastly, though not all the details had been revealed.

"You know, the guy we're dealing with isn't you everyday run-of-the-mill villian. If you give me a moment I can give you something that'll help you get to know exactly who he is." She started to brief them, and disappeared with a soft 'pop' only to re-appear a minute later with a small yet thick black book, the coners curling at the edge, the book was tied together with a faded, worn blue ribbon. "Formely known as Captain Montgomery Excruciate, one of Serpine's most glorified lackeys, you probably wouldn't know him. The sanctuary may have a few details on him around the time Serpine tried to get the book of names, but this book should tell you alot more, profile, strenghts, weaknesses, appearence accompanied with drawings and pictures. Also, if we could get to my house, in my study I have a few blue-prints of the known hideouts and a map of Ireland pin-pointed with different places he frequents as well as his lackeys. Basically an entire fact-file on him with all my knowledge pooled together." She explained as she handed the book over.

The men looked at the book slowly flicking through the pages, "It might take hours to go through all of it," Dexter gasped as he looked up from the book.

"Yeah, Skul we're talking about years of research here."Saracen agreed.

"It may be better if we split up into two groups, one take the information here at the sanctuary the other takes the information at Lorcan's." Valkyrie said, as she glanced at the carefuly written pages.

"We could get through the information alot quicker," Skulduggery decided. "Val, me and Lorcan could take the information at Lorcan's, and then Dex, Anton and Saracen can take the information here. I'm sure Ghastly and Ravel have very important elder work to be getting on with, so we'd best be off." He motioned to the door and everyone slowly departed from the small room.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know a little bit short but, really it was just a space filler chapter. All support is fully accepted please R&R!**


	17. The manor

They drove silently through the old rusting gates into heavily overegrown vegetated areas on either side of a cracked stone driveway. There was a small sign just outside the gates that read '_Eastbrooke House'_. "Just carry on a little further and you'll see the house, easy." Lorcan said as they turned a corner in the woodland. Sure enough a few meters ahead there was a large stone clearing which held a large victorian manor. The area surrounding the manor held a rectangular stone building, presumably where the slaves' quaters once were. "We're here!" She stated, as she jumped out the car. Skulduggery and Valkyrie studied the manor carefully, at first glance the house looked as if hadn't been disturbed in over 100 years but if you looked closer you could see the inside of the manor was well-kept and there had been a slight movement in one of the upstairs windows and a tell-tale click of a window shutting as someone disappeared from the window.

"There's someone in the house." Valkyrie whispered.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about that." Lorcan explained that she had always left a duplicate in the manor so if she was gone, the duplicate could then manage all the other duplicates and the information they collected. She had said briefly that there was a spy in each sanctuary for her, and her alone, so if something was happening she could possibly help and that way she was also kept well informed.

They arrived at the door without being obstructed. The door itself was very large and also very old it seemed. They quickly advanced into the foyer of the manor,the large wooden doors, shining as the wood had obviously re-varnished it all recently, the lush red carpet that led up the stairs on either side of them worn with use, the white walls with wooden panelling the same as the ceiling with pearly white surfaces and dark oak wood criss-crossing the space,the marble floor glistening in the sunlight that was spilling through the large glass windows, the crystal chandeliers also basking in the light, the elaborate rug at their feet freshly cleaned,the furnishings of the room were professionally crafted, and the ticking grand-father clock slowly counted the time with long, hearty chimes at each hour.

"Hello! I'm home!" Lorcan shouted as she led the way forward through the house, "It's completley harmless if it knows I'm here with you, because then it knows you mean it no harm." She explained, as they continued down the hall, slowly approaching the wooden door at the end of the hall. She cautiously opened the door to find an exact replica of herself, packing a hand-gun away into one of the drawers in an old kneehole desk, locking it behind her. The room they entered was, like many others in the manor, very grand and expensive in furnishings. "I thought you were someone else..." Grumbled the duplicate.

"Why would I be someone else?" Lorcan asked.

"Not you, them." It said jerking it's head in Skulduggery and Valkyrie's direction.

"Really you didn't know who the skeleton was?" She laughed.

"...No"

"Huh, maybe you're too much like me?"

Skulduggery cleared his non-existent throat.

"Oh yeah sorry, uh... Make yourself at home?" It apologised.

Valkyrie turned to Lorcan, "Where did you say this information was?"

"Right in here!" Lorcan said, walking to the desk. She motioned for them to come over. "All the info you'll need is in here, but there's nothing in the locked drawer, apart from a gun." They started pulling out all the files and papers out of all the drawers, spreading them through-out the room.

* * *

Meanwhile...

"Now I know why Val hates this place so much." Groaned Dexter.

"Do you wanna find this guy or not?" Asked Saracen.

"Of course I do, it's just soooo boring!"

"Then keep looking," Said Anton. Dexter didn't reply, he just kept opening yet another old dusty file.

Saracen gave Anton an amused grin, "I bet you a fiver he won't last." Whispered Anton.

"You're on!"Replied Saracen.

"I hope you're not betting on yours truly." Grunted Dexter.

"Never!" Replied Saracen with mock-surprise, whilst Anton just chuckled to himself.

* * *

Back with Val...

It had been three hours since they arrived and they weren't even halfway through the files. Her stomach rumbled, "Oops," Muttered Val, embarrased at how loud her stomach sounded in the silent room.

"Hungry?" Skulduggery asked, as colour rushed to her face.

"Would you like something to eat?" Lorcan asked.

"Yes please." Valkyrie responded eagerly.

"Good because I'm starving as me." As she led the way toward the kitchen she asked, "When was the last time you ate an actual meal?"

"... I don't know"

"Lucky you, I got one of the duplicates to prepare us something."

* * *

**I know, I know the story is a little calm at the minute, but there will be action in the next chapter I promise! Please keep R&R!**


	18. Nightmares and a plan

Shadows, staircases and the dark things were all so different from the world she had, left behind for sleep. They were just a few things that haunted her dreams. She knew the more vivid it became, the closer he was. He'd haunted her dreams since she was eight, an eight year old who's world had just collapsed. He was coming for her and she knew it, but she couldn't tell anyone. Twisting and turning in her sleep she awoke, screaming. She was back in reality now, she put her head in her hands. It was an eerie feeling to know these things, it's like when you get the feeling somebody is staring at you and catch them in the act. Her head felt like it was filled with molten lava rather than blood. Bubbling and boiling beneath her skin as though she was a volcano about to erupt. Sometimes though she still felt like the small eight year old, she sighed. She would never be able to get over that feeling.

She had tonight. At best. She'd been having the nightmares for weeks, Skulduggery, Valkyrie and the rest of the dead men had all come and gone during the past two weeks but everyone was now growing tiresome. Countless days and nights had been spent scouring the papers looking for a clue of some sort, but to no avail. She hadn't told them she knew that they were coming, but what she had done was she had written each a note,she got out of bed her legs slightly weak. She sat at the desk, re-reading the notes though only half concentrating as she couldn't get that haunting voice out of her head, _his_ voice. She growled even thinking of him made her depressed, she had to put her plan into action, now, she could wait no longer.

_Dear Skulduggery, _

_By the time you'll have read this note I'll be long gone. I can't say enough how sorry I am to have left you once more, but this is the only way, none shall be hurt for me. I made a vow to myself after my parents died to make sure that nobody has to be killed or injured in any shape or form for me, I still honour this vow as it is one of the small peices of my old life I was able to salvage. Excruciate was after me for my magic, therefore so as a pre-caution I have re-written every memory I have ever had and replaced them all with fake ones, I have everything prepared. My magic wasn't merely just shape-shifting what happened was I had to re-write the DNA inside me, I have now re-written everything though I may look the same I have transferred every single trace of magic in my body._

_However, if under any circumstances you may need to find where my magic is stored just think of this note..._

_Riddle me this... If I am the key to everything, what am I? _

_To find me is simple, all you have to do,_

_To find me is to find the windows, that's all you need to do._

_I hope you may find this helpful, if you do find my magic,__**DO NOT ACTIVATE IT!**__ If anyone should however activate this magic the unspoken concequences shall not be blamed on me, do not say you have not been warned. Stay Strong._

_Yours faithfully,_

_Lorcan Wright_

_Dear Valkyrie,_

_I am counting on you to help Skulduggery and the rest of the Dead Men through this task, keep them together, if you remeber what Skulduggery told you about the trap Serpine set, he admitted that his judgement was clouded, I am counting on you to make sure they keep a clear head. I don't know anybody else who has come to close to any of the Dead Men after the war, or at least none like you. In the past few days you have become a good friend to me, somebody I can be myself around, that's all I ever wanted. I also noticed that there is a very special connection between you and Skulduggery, you are his one weakness as he is yours, I am glad of this as Skulduggery made it very hard after the war to even maintain a friendly relationship with, but you have become something much more, his keeper. Skulduggery needs a keeper, somebody to take care of him, make him laugh, make him smile, you have become this person and everyone of us can see care of yourselves._

_Yours faithfully,_

_Lorcan Wright_

_Dear Erskine, Dexter, Saracen, Anton and Ghastly,_

_I will never be able to apologise enough for how many times I have left you, you have all become like brothers to me, a second family. Though it saddens me to do this, I have to I am afraid there is no other way. Excruciate was after me for my magic therefore I had to hide it, I have left some clues in Skulduggery's note that should help you find it. At this time I will be Excruciates hands, defenceless, stay strong and keep a clear head, you will need to work together like you did during the war. I cannot have anything from my past life with me as it may stir-up memories, that is why I am leaving my necklace with you. I am afraid I was not able to tell you of this, because you would have tried to stop me, but I have to do this._

_Yours faithfully,_

_Lorcan Wright_

Once she had placed each of the notes in an envelope and sealed, she wandered back to her room and changed her clothes. She transferred her magic, leaving enough for one teleportation and to wipe her memories then placed both her necklace and the notes in the locked drawer, she knew that Skulduggery would want a peek inside the drawer when she was gone. She took one last look around her and teleported.

* * *

Next day...

Skulduggery and Valkyrie arrived at Eastbrooke house at eight o'clock sharp, upon entering it was unusually quiet, they searched round the house and found no sign of Lorcan anywhere. She was gone like she was gone before, no trace but this time with an idea of what had happened. After searching the housefrom top to bottom Skulduggery went back to the study. He remembered the first day they came here they had been told all of the information was in the drawers except the locked drawer, he had seen the look in Lorcan's eyes as she spoke of the drawer,there was something very intriuging about it. Lorcan had always had very expressive eyes, he remembered if anyone got into a fight with her they would always mention that when they looked intoher eyes they could see the fiery pits of hell or, some times the frozen ice of a smothered heart.

He inspected the lock, there was nothing unusual about it, he started to pick the lock and in a few moments the drawer fell open. Inside the drawer sat a handgun, Lorcan's necklace and three seealed envelopes with carefully written caligraphy across the front. The names on the envelopes caught his eye; Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Erskine, Dexter, Saracen, Anton and Ghastly. Curiosity got the better of him as he ripped open the envelope, the writing was awfully familiar, he read through the letter, whilst Valkyrie read hers and then immediatley called the others.


End file.
